KUALA LUMPUR – The involvement of the corporate sector is vital as government funding alone is insufficient for sports development in Malaysia, said Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.
Speaking at the Daikin International Badminton Championship today, Yeoh said the private sector’s involvement in sports development is in line with the government’s intentions to provide tax incentives and matching funds to individuals and corporations.
“Tax incentives will definitely help corporate sponsors who want to channel their money to help develop sports in Malaysia.
“Government money alone won’t be enough to develop sports – that is why we need corporate sponsors like Daikin,” she said at the Sunsuria-Pioneer Badminton Hall today.
Yeoh said the government’s suggestion to provide RM50 million in matching funds to encourage the private sector’s sponsorship will also help companies cut the organising cost by half.
“When the cost is cut by half, you can organise more tournaments that allow athletes to improve their ranking.
“We also need to collect data from these types of tournaments so we can see how the spending will benefit the local economy, from the food and beverage industry to the hotels,” she said.
The Segambut MP added that once the ministry’s budget has been approved, awareness programmes will be organised and the private sector will be informed of the tax incentives and available matching funds that they can utilise.
Yeoh also said national-level tournaments such as the Daikin International championships will also help increase the country’s badminton talent pool as the championship saw over 1500 participants with the youngest category being 8-years-old, competing from March 6 to 9.
“This event is sanctioned by BAM and will increase our talent pool. I am very happy to see the big turnout for this event.
“We need more platforms like this if we want to develop more athletes for the future.
“It is good for the children to participate because it is fun and exciting for them, but at the same time they also learn more about the nature of competing,” she said.
Previously, it was announced that the sporting industry was given an allocation of RM399 million in the revised Budget 2023.
Yeoh said that no ministry will ever say the allocation is enough, but it is up to them respectively to properly utilise the limited funds to further involve the public in sports development. – The Vibes, March 9, 2023
